This week in gaming, which was home to the start of E3 (EA and Bethesda’s press conferences), was pretty good—unless you’re affiliated with Microsoft; quite a few planned reveals were leaked before their press conference on Monday morning, with some featuring screenshots and video footage. The biggest of these leaks is the upgraded Xbox One, by far.

Some of these leaked games and the leaked Xbox One will be discussed below; of course, if you’re not interested in hearing about these things until E3 (quite the wait!), you shouldn’t read on.

For everyone else, let’s take a look at what this week brought the gaming community!

Xbox One S Pictures, Info Leak

Although we’re just a short while away from Microsoft’s press conference, news of their upgraded Xbox One system has been leaked; perhaps Sony was wise to delay in the revealing of their new PS4 (this week, they confirmed that an upgraded PS4 is in the works, but stated that it won’t be shown at E3)!

Based upon the images and text (which look to have derived directly from a Microsoft product page), we know that the system is 40% smaller than the current Xbox One, shipped with a vertical stand, holds the power brick internally (good riddance!), and comes with a new controller. Needless to say, it is also able to project in 4K resolution.

This is all pretty interesting, but certainly, the real information—perhaps even a release date—will come when Microsoft kicks things off at E3. Unless those who leaked this information decide to take things even further, that is.

This leads to an important point that most everyone is able to find through their own thought, but with all the excitement, probably haven’t yet. Pretty far up the food chain, panic, anger, and frustration have set in amongst Microsoft, and more specifically Xbox, employees. While we eagerly anticipate their E3 show, an essential witch hunt to find the party responsible for the spoilers is underway. But when the conference begins, fans will be none the wiser. It really is interesting to think about.

Dead Rising 4 Info Leaked

Dead Rising lives on, but its official reveal definitely didn’t go as planned.

Before E3 has even started, screenshots depicting a snow-filled setting, as well as gameplay showing Frank West using some sort of electrical-ray weapon, have been leaked.

The good news is that the game looks awesome. The graphics are sharp, the wintery environment is an intriguing (and necessary) departure from the traditional DR landscapes (I say necessary because of the increasingly frequent releases within the series), and Capcom looks to be taking the weapons to a whole new—and innovative—level.

The bad news, of course, is that we’re finding this out not at Microsoft’s E3 press conference, but well before it.

Once again, there is most definitely hell to pay at Microsoft right now for anyone who had access to this info.

Titanfall 2 to Release on October 28th, Feature Single-Player Campaign

EA’s press conference was solid, as it was revealed that Titanfall 2 will release on October 28th (on both the Xbox One and the PS4), and will include a campaign mode—something the original title didn’t have.

There was also a nice bit of gameplay released for Titanfall 2, which looks intriguing, and is definitely must-watch footage for fans of the series.

It should be mentioned, albeit briefly, that the EA Access Vault on the Xbox One, which allows members to enjoy quite a few games (including the original Titanfall, EA Sports UFC, Battlefield 4, and many others) is free for Gold members now until the twenty-second.

Free is free, I suppose, although it appears as though you’ll need to subscribe to unlock the achievements that you earn (I haven’t yet confirmed this point).

Bethesda’s E3 Press Conference Impresses

Despite not having a major title on-tap prior to their conference, Bethesda provided gamers with quite a few announcements to appreciate during their E3 showing.

First, Prey, which isn’t a remake of the original title or a sequel, but is rather a standalone game, is in development. It will be interesting to see where Bethesda takes the series now that they’re in control, to say the least; the possibilities are endless! Also, the man who wrote Fallout: New Vegas will be crafting the script for this title.

Next, Skyrim will be re-released in HD on the PS4, One, and PC; if Bethesda does a good job with the remastering—and history indicates that they will—fans will certainly dive back-into the title’s extensive universe without issue. Moreover, it’s hard to think of a game better-suited for a re-release than this one; the technological capabilities of today’s consoles will greatly assist the overall experience.

Dishonored 2 gameplay was also featured, and as a whole, it looked solid. I’m still waiting for a sequel to Wet, though! (I know, not everyone liked the title for some reason, but I really enjoyed it; in my book, it’s one of the most underrated games of the previous generation).

Finally, Fallout 4 fans probably had the most to appreciate from the press conference, as Bethesda revealed that they are crafting three new pieces of DLC: Contraptions Workshop, which allows players to build all sorts of true “contraptions”, including a variety of machines (check the trailer for more info), Vault-Tec Workshop, which will allow players to create their very own vaults, attract settlers, maintain these vaults, and in true Vault-Tec fashion, perform experiments on their settlers, and a Nuka-World expansion pack, which takes players through a raider-controlled, run-down Nuka Cola theme park that appears to be similar to Far Harbor in terms of size.

The latter of these DLC entries, Nuka-World, will be the final downloadable piece released for Fallout 4. Amazingly, all of this content will be available for free to those who own the Season Pass. That $30 investment has paid for itself several times over to those who bought early (even $50 isn’t bad)!

What’s even more thrilling is that this is just the tip of the iceberg, as the remainder of E3 will provide even more announcements and excitement for gaming fans to soak in.

Max Smith has an appreciation for each sport, but is committed to delivering the best MMA coverage around. From the UFC to Bellator, to the World Series of Fighting and ONE, as well as most every promotion in-between, he rarely misses a show. Onlookers are correct in assuming that he isn’t very photogenic!